New body scanner at LaPorte County Jail checks all inmates for contraband

The new body scanner at the LaPorte County Jail. (Sheriff’s office photo)

After a number of contraband smugglings within the LaPorte County Jail in recent months, the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office has added a body scanner to scan all inmates.

“The scanner went live on Nov. 20, 2017, after the installation and training of jail deputies,” a sheriff’s department press release states. “The SecurPASS scanner, which was purchased at a cost of $199,000, was quickly put to use and has already been successful. Less than 48 hours after the unit was made operational, a female inmate being admitted to the jail was found to be concealing six Flexeril (muscle relaxant) pills in her brassiere. On Nov. 27, a female inmate who had been brought from the Lake County Jail was found to have hidden tattooing equipment in a body cavity. Jail tattooing, which is a jail rule violation, is often popular however is very unsanitary and can lead to infection and sickness.”

In September, three individuals — a jail inmate, a jail kitchen worker and a visitor — were charged with trafficking marijuana, a cell phone and tobacco at the jail.